In the manual they gave us (at UCDavis)for a tradgic accident my husband was in... where he ended?

... up paralyzed from the waist-down... they said there was a 3 to 5 year life-expectancy for those with such a severe condition. Does anyone know anything about this? earlygrandpa was 46 when he passed July 08, 2011. He was my world. I started this membership for him. I miss him very much. He wouldn't let me read that life-expectancy part AT ALL. I just turned the page to some other thing. I know, a lot... of things, effected the length and quality of his life. Does anyone remember, or know of this 3-5 year thing, though? I thank you for any effort to help.Debanynjames

Responses (1)

If you are talking about spinal cord injuries, infection leading to sepsis is a concern. Often for paralysis from the waist down, since they must straight cath to urinate, urinary tract infection is common. I'm not sure I agree with the 3-5 year life expectancy, but a spinal cord injury patient has to constantly be alert for infection. In the case of UTI, they cannot feel the usual pain that indicates infection and it can advance to severe quite quickly leading to sepsis which is a body wide infection and this has the potential to be fatal. The symptoms usually manifest themselves in other ways that the patient and family must be alert for. I'm not sure if this is what you are talking about because many spinal cord injury patients can live long full lives by taking measures to prevent infection and also pressure ulcers. Perhaps the 3-5 year life expectancy was listed as an average but there are certainly people who live many years with spinal cord injuries and paralysis. If you are talking about something else, provide more information about the condition you are talking about and I will try to answer. I'm sorry for your loss. 46 years old is too young to be gone from the world!